This is the opening of two exhibitions presented by the NZIA Auckland Branch.
Simon Devitt Prize for Photography:  Since 2008 Retrospective and The Ground is Talking to Us: South Pacific Architecture - Megan Rule + Julie Wilson 

Simon Devitt Prize for Photography:  Since 2008 Retrospective

An award-winning series of works by students from the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at University of Auckland. 

“Curiosity is the engine behind any good photographer. Be brave and take risks.”

The Simon Devitt Prize for Photography is an annual competition showcasing unique photographic perspectives from some of New Zealand's most talented emerging creative minds. The Prize was established at the University of Auckland in 2008.The main purpose of the Prize is to acknowledge the best photograph in Creative Arts and Industries produced by a student of the University of Auckland currently enrolled in a course contributing to their Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries (CAI) degree programme. 

In 2016 Simon widened the competition to include all students from the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries to better reflect the faculty's versatile nature, incorporating architecture, dance, design, fine arts, music and urban planning. Simon Devitt is an Auckland-based photographer specialising in Architecture. He established the Simon Devitt Prize for Photography award in 2008, initially for students from the School of Architecture and Planning, where he teaches narratives in photography.

The Ground is Talking to Us: South Pacific Architecture - Megan Rule + Julie Wilson 

An exhibition examining research and practice from 2000 to 2020 by award winning practice South Pacific Architecture in 10 drawings x 10 projects with a series of models by students from University of Auckland SoAP 

Megan Rule and Julie Wilson have collaborated over a period of 18 years on projects that examine some of the pressing challenges of their time. This project represents a sample of an ongoing dialogue that has informed project initiatives in both a built and unbuilt context. The elements and themes that bring these representations together reflect an ongoing relationship between the unpredictability of surroundings, the material and tectonic manifestation and social implications. 

In chaos theory we are constantly in crisis. Human endeavour lunges from one to the next whether seismic, fires, floods, droughts, eruptions or pandemics. We are constantly looking for certainty, the type driven by human made conciseness, but are we realistic? Over time we appear to shift in our own comfort levels relative to a pendulum swing between more extreme conditions. Our ability to review and assess our own genealogical context can illuminate our perception, representation and realisation of our environmental and community response. While we are in crisis, there is again an opportunity to look in the mirror for renewal and personal economy.